


Subtle Influences

by tbat



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, me: that's cool but what if rex accidentally made crossette into a pyra liker, rated t for mythra saying a rude swear, the game: a driver's unconscious influence can oftentimes doom a blade to a tragic existence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-24 05:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30067044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tbat/pseuds/tbat
Summary: The gang speculate on the source of Crossette's infatuation with Pyra, and come to the only sensible conclusion.
Relationships: Homura | Pyra/Rex
Comments: 6
Kudos: 63





	Subtle Influences

**Author's Note:**

> they say that every writer just tells the same story over and over again, and for me that story is "pyra and/or rex becomes very embarrassed and everyone bullies them for it." i just think it's funny

“You really are amazing, you know that, Pyra? I mean, is there anything you _can’t_ do?”  
  
Crossette’s excitable voice rang out loudly across the Lemour Inn, prompting a few confused glances her way. Sat next to her at one of the party’s crowded tables, Pyra let out the nervous laugh of someone whose self-esteem was being offered a big boost, but was quickly discovering it was afraid of heights.  
  
“That’s...kind of you to say, Crossette, but I’m nothing special, really,” she said modestly.  
  
Crossette’s mouth hung open in outraged shock.  
  
“‘Nothing special!?’ Are you kidding?! I don’t think there’s a single Blade in all of Alrest like you, Pyra!”  
  
“Well, there’s Mythra-“  
  
“Her?” Crossette snorted. “Please. I’ve never met anyone ruder than her! Not like you. You’re so kind, so polite... _Nothing_ like her.”  
  
 _Tell her to eat shit_ , echoed Mythra’s voice in Pyra’s head.  
  
 _I don’t think that would taste very nice..._ came Pyra’s concerned reply. It’s no wonder Mythra had trouble cooking when she had ideas like that.  
  
Thankfully, before Mythra could swap in and start wreaking havoc on the conversation, Crossette hopped energetically to her feet, her chair clattering behind her.  
  
“Alright! Lemme go grab the ingredients for the lesson!” She squealed, rubbing her hands together. “I can’t believe it! I’m gonna learn to cook from _Pyra herself!_ I’ll just be a sec, okay?”  
  
Turning, she readied herself and, with a tap of her feet, sparks began to fly out from them, propelling her forward at high speed.  
  
“Crossette! Don’t use those indoors!” Pyra called out with a worried expression, but the Blade was already out of earshot, nimbly dodging between surprised patrons. She sighed, listening to the chorus of gasps and yelp Crossette was leaving in her wake. She meant well, but she could be so reckless sometimes. A little like Rex, she supposed.  
  
“Wow, she was pretty excited about that lesson. She really looks up to you, huh?” said Rex, who had been sat on Pyra’s other side, staring at the rapidly disappearing figure.  
  
“She’s very nice, but she exaggerates so much...it’s a little embarrassing, honestly,” Pyra replied, letting out another laugh.  
  
“Aw, c’mon, she’s not exaggerating all that much. You _are_ pretty amazing, Pyra,” he said, smiling fondly.  
  
“Y-you think so?” Pyra said, self-consciously fidgeting.  
  
“Sure I do! You’re too hard on yourself, y’know.”  
  
“Oh, um...thank you, Rex,” she mumbled, a small smile creeping onto her face. She wasn’t sure why, but when Rex said things like that they always seemed that little bit more sincere, like he lacked the hyperbole that Crossette liberally laced her compliments with. They felt like something she could maybe, just maybe, really believe about herself.  
  
“Hey, you know what I don’t get, chaps?” said Zeke, addressing the rest of the table’s occupants and shaking Pyra from her thoughts. He leaned back in his chair until it was balancing on two legs. She winced in anticipation of the inevitable fall coming his way. “How come Crossette is such a Pyra fan, anyway? She practically popped out the core all starry-eyed! Weird, yeah?”  
  
Brighid nodded, her hand on her chin. “It _is_ rather odd. When a Blade is awakened, we know our names, our basic abilities, our personality...Frankly, I’m not sure where admiration of the Aegis comes into it.”  
  
“Yeah, I mean, it’s not like she’d even know about Pyra until she woke up, right? But the first thing she did was go running up to her like ‘ _oh my gosh I’m your biggest fan!_ ’ Super weird,” Pandoria said. She idly prodded Zeke’s chair, daring it to tip over.  
  
Mòrag hummed in thought for a moment before interjecting. “Well, they do say that, at times, a Driver can influence a Blade’s personality upon awakening, even if only subtly...”  
  
Zeke’s mouth curled into an ominous grin. He brought his chair forward into a more stable position, the legs landing with a dull thud. Pandoria let out a quiet ‘boo’ of disappointment.  
  
“So you’re saying the source of her Pyramania must be a little _closer to home,_ eh?” he said, his grin only widening as he jabbed Rex with a pointed look. “That’d explain a lot, don’t you think so, chum?”  
  
“Uh...explain what?” Rex asked, his tone apprehensive. Zeke let out a sinister chuckle.  
  
“Oh, I think you know, chum. I think you know.”  
  
“Aww, young love is so cute!” Pandoria said, her expression now a perfect twin of Zeke’s. “You must _really_ like Pyra, huh, Rex?”  
  
Her face flashed a bright crimson at the suggestion and she turned to Rex, staring at him in surprise. Could that really be true? The degree to which a Driver influenced their Blade varied from bond to bond, but if Crossette had awakened with _this_ much affection for her, then, well...it had to have come from _somewhere_ , right? And that would mean...  
  
“Huh?! W-wait, Rex, do...do you really...?” she attempted to ask before quickly losing steam. She dared not follow this any further, slamming the brakes on her train of thought and stranding it on the tracks. It was too embarrassing. Far too embarrassing.  
  
Panic firmly etched onto his face, Rex rapidly shook his head.  
  
“Whoa, whoa, wait a second! That’s not it! I don’t-“ he paused with a grimace before continuing. “I mean, sure, I like you, but not...y’know...” he trailed off before groaning in frustration. Pouting, he turned towards Zeke and Pandoria, who looked incredibly pleased with themselves. “Why’re you pinning it all on me, anyway!?”  
  
“Just a simple observation, chum, that’s all,” Zeke said.  
  
“Yeah, you’re the one making a big deal outta it,” Pandoria added.  
  
Folding his arms, Rex grumbled out a few more fleeting protests before giving up, choosing to sulk and pick vaguely at his meal instead. Pyra found that her own appetite was currently on strike due to a surprise invasion of butterflies in her stomach, so she instead stared at her feet, quietly simmering in the stew of complicated feelings now brewing within her.  
  
Did he like her _that_ much? Did he? There wasn’t any other explanation, no other way Crossette could even know she existed, so it had to be that, and that meant Pyra now had to interrogate herself over whether _she_ liked Rex that much in turn, and well, that was all just a little too much for her right now.  
  
It did _not_ help matters that she was currently flanked by a still-smirking Zeke and Pandoria on one side, and Brighid now sporting a small, knowing smile on the other. Even the privacy of her own mind wasn’t safe, thanks to Mythra’s groaning and asking her if she was _really_ just figuring all this out just now.  
  
At least Mòrag just looked kind of bemused. One less person to tease her.  
  
Somewhere far, far away from all these thoughts, Pyra heard the distant, distinct screech of Crossette’s return, and the thud of a disorganized pile of ingredients being dumped on the table.  
  
“I’m back! You ready to-“ Crossette stopped, peering down curiously at Pyra’s face, then Rex’s. “Hey, did something happen? You guys’re all red.”  
  
“Oh, they’re just mulling over a few home truths. Nothing to worry about,” Zeke said.  
  
“Huh.” Crossette stared silently at Pyra for a moment before her usual bright-eyed smile returned. “You know, I wish I could look half as good as you when I blushed, Pyra! You’re so cute!”  
  
Zeke let out a bark of loud laughter.  
  
“Bet you’re with her on that one, eh, chum?” he said, elbowing Rex.  
  
“H-hey! I didn’t even say anything!” he protested.  
  
“You didn’t have to. It’s all over your face,” Pandoria chipped in. “I’m rooting for you guys, y’know!”  
  
“C’mon, it’s not like that! Really!”  
  
As the debate raged on, Pyra tightly shut her eyes and hid her thoroughly reddened face behind her hands, wishing she was someplace very far away and much, much quieter.  
  
Maybe with Rex. Probably with Rex. She was sure there wasn’t anything to unpack about that thought.  
  



End file.
